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Prepping to Move to a New Email Server

Protecting your existing IMAP email in Outlook

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The best thing about using IMAP (rather than POP3) for your email is that you can sync across devices.  For instance, if you send a text from your laptop/desktop installation of Outlook, you can go to the library, sign into your provider's email portal, and see the sent mail there as well (and the response if there is one).  If you then reply from the library, you'll see the reply when you get home to your own computer (and Outlook), too.

This works because, in reality, all the actual information lives on the server of the email provider.  (For Elf mail, that's currently Rackspace - but we're moving to a new provider (and, therefore, new server).  What you see when you access your mail via the provider's email interface is the "real thing" but what you see in Outlook at home - or any other way you access it - is a "mirror" of what's on the server.

 

Think of it like this: Imagine that the recipe for your favorite cookies ever is on the website of an old Italian woman.  It's a one-of-a kind recipe handed down through generations and she's sharing it with the world.  You (wisely) pin it to your RECIPES board in Pinterest so you can quickly get back to it without trying to recall the woman's name.  Anytime you want to make the cookies you find it on your board, click, and you're back to the old lady's cookie page.  Until one day you click and you get an error message that says the page doesn't exist.  😱  Seems the woman died and her kids shut down the site.  And just like that... your favorite cookies are gone forever.  Pinterest doesn't save the info.  It just gives you a faster way to get to it.

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Similarly, sometime this Monday (probably late afternoon or early evening), you're going to open Outlook and click on your Elf mail inbox and (if you're using IMAP) there won't be anything there.  Not even the email you retained from last week (or last year).  Not good, right?!

So you're going to do with your email what you should have done with that cookie recipe: save a copy in a place that only you have access to.  Here's how:
 

1. Export Your Emails to a PST File

  • Click File in the top-left corner of Outlook.

  • Choose Open & Export from the left menu.

  • Click Import/Export to open the wizard.

  • Select Export to a file and click Next.

  • Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

  • Select your IMAP email address or specific folders.

  • Check the box for Include subfolders and click Next.

  • Click Browse to choose a safe saving location (like your Desktop).

  • Name your backup file and click Finish.

 

2. Verify and Protect Your Backup

  • Navigate to the folder where you saved the PST file.

  • Right-click the file and select Properties.

  • Confirm the Size is larger than 0 KB to ensure it contains data.

  • Leave Outlook open for a few minutes if you have a massive mailbox.

  • Keep this PST file safe; you can import it into your new account later.

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And here's how you're going to put it back once you've attached Outlook to the new server.  (Directions for that will be on a different page.)

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1. Import the PST File

  • Click File in the top-left corner of Outlook.

  • Choose Open & Export from the left menu.

  • Click Import/Export to launch the wizard.

  • Select Import from another program or file and click Next.

  • Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

  • Click Browse and select your saved backup file.

  • Choose Replace duplicates with items imported and click Next.

  • Select the top folder (often named Outlook Data File).

  • Check the box for Include subfolders.

  • Choose Import items into the same folder in: and select your new email address from the dropdown menu.

  • Click Finish to start the import process.

 

2. Monitor the Sync Process

  • Look at the bottom-right corner of Outlook for a sync status bar.

  • Keep Outlook open and connected to the internet while it uploads.

  • Avoid closing the app until the status bar says All folders are up to date.

  • Check your new inbox folders to confirm all historical emails appear.

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